When Middlesbrough signed David Nugent in August 2015 it was met with a mixed response.

The club had just suffered play-off final heartbreak at Wembley, and had lost their 19-goal top scorer Patrick Bamford, who opted for a Premier League tilt with Crystal Palace rather than a Riverside return.

Who would replace his goals in the upcoming season? It was the question on Boro supporters’ lips.

Nugent arrived in a £4m deal - but was he the prolific goal-getter that Aitor Karanka’s side needed? His career tally suggested not, but then again he did inspire Leicester to promotion only 12 months earlier.

And he wasn’t the only one to label Nugent as the dressing room livewire.

“David Nugent is always looking for a small joke,” Marten de Roon added. “It’s the small things. He puts some salt in your drink if you’re taking another drink or anything or even just helping someone.

“Then you take a small sip - he’s just annoying but it’s funny if it doesn’t happen to you. If it happens to you you’re just like - David Nugent!”

His infectious personality and all-action approach endeared him to the Boro fans - and he leaves the Riverside as a fans’ favourite.

He perhaps didn’t show his very best on-the-pitch in the Boro red, but what he did show was a professionalism, hunger and effort. That goes a long way in the modern game.

David Nugent celebrates against Hull

You’d have to say that Nugent has repaid the £4m that Boro parted with to prise him from Leicester City last summer.

Repaid it - and more. How much was promotion worth?

There’s a case to suggest Nugent played a hugely understated role as Boro ended their seven-year stay in Championship purgatory last season.

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I recall only weeks into the new season, he single-handedly transformed a game at Sheffield Wednesday after coming off the bench.

Replacing Kike Garcia on the hour mark, Nugent created two goals for teammates Diego Fabbrini and Cristhian Stuani to hand Boro all three points - and their first victory at Hillsborough since 2009.

That’s not all. He scored three goals in four matches in September 2015 - including vital breakthroughs against Nottingham Forest and Leeds.

He notched his annual goal against Ipswich three months later at Portman Road to help Boro end another hoodoo, with Karanka’s men winning in Suffolk for the first time since 1993.

Nugent leaves Boro having scored 15 goals in his last 15 matches against Ipswich - a remarkable stat which he’ll be looking to extend for Derby when they face the Tractor Boys on January 31.